WWE SmackDown: Forget Waldo, Where’s Cesaro and Sheamus?

Another episode of WWE SmackDown, another absence for Cesaro and Sheamus. Just what is happening with The Bar lately?

When the Superstar Shake-up sent Cesaro and Sheamus to WWE SmackDown on April 17, it seemed like a big opportunity for the team. The Bar overcame a reluctance in teaming with each other to capture the WWE/Raw Tag Team Championships four times together.

But the SmackDown tag team division seemed like a better place, allowing for more great matches with the established teams there. The Usos, New Day, and Bludgeon Brothers were mainstays on the blue brand, and the addition of SAnitY and Gallows & Anderson seemed like a step in the right direction. Who wouldn’t want to see The Bar tie up with any of those squads?

Instead, since joining WWE SmackDown, Cesaro and Sheamus have had just six matches — one singles match apiece, a six man tag, and four tag team bouts. One of those tag matches came at the Greatest Royal Rumble, and it was for the vacant Raw Tag Team Championships.

So what is going on with The Bar?

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At first, it appeared an alliance with The Miz was in place. That seemed to be scrapped fairly early, and Cesaro and Sheamus took a hiatus during the FIFA World Cup. Rumors had been going around about The Celtic Warrior’s health, as Sheamus admitted on his YouTube channel that he suffers from spinal stenosis. That’s an incurable, chronic condition that affects the spinal cord, so it’s kind of a big deal.

So maybe the break during the early summer was to give the pair, especially Sheamus, a rest. While not old by any stretch of the imagination, both Cesaro is almost 38 and Sheamus is 40 — extra time out of the ring isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

But one would think that a big return would lead to big things for the team. When SmackDown GM Paige announced a tournament to determine the next challengers for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, The Bar was one of four teams involved. Since Harper and Rowan had already defeated all the other teams who seemed logical challengers, wouldn’t it make sense for Cesaro and Sheamus to win the tourney?

Sure enough, The Bar defeated The Usos on July 31, in their first match since late May. That set up a rematch of sorts against New Day — a team The Bar have lengthy history with. It seemed a slam dunk bet that Cesaro and Sheamus would leave WWE SmackDown as the new number one contenders to the tag titles.

However, New Day won what ended up being a fantastic match on August 7, leaving The Bar in limbo yet again. And this past week on SmackDown, The Bar were once again absent from the broadcast. They’re nowhere to be found on the SummerSlam card, either.

Where does this leave Cesaro and Sheamus moving forward? They’re two highly decorated superstars — Sheamus a former multiple time world champion, Cesaro generally regarded as one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Could their time as a team have run its course? Is Sheamus in worse shape than he’s letting on?

It’s frustrating that such amazing competitors are left on the sidelines, but maybe it’s just a case of WWE SmackDown having too much talent for two hours. The main stories of late have been centered around Daniel Bryan and The Miz, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and Carmella, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. Which one would deserve less time to focus elsewhere?

Even secondary stories like the feud between Rusev/Lana and Andrade Almas/Zelina Vega have been handled exceptionally well. And it’s not like The Usos are on screen every second of the day lately, either. Then Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Shinsuke Nakamura, and many other are fighting for television time, too.

Perhaps there’s plans in place for after SummerSlam. Maybe Cesaro will finally get that nudge to main event talent if Sheamus takes more time off to rehab. Or maybe The Bar stick together and get a tag title match against The Bludgeon Brothers after all. Who knows?

What I do know is that this team, or these two individual superstars, however you want to look at it, are too talented to be complete non factors for this long. It’s time for the creative team on WWE SmackDown to find something for Cesaro and Sheamus to do.